CRESTVIEW — Next month, a once-popular seafood spot will be the place for award-winning barbecue.
Starting Dec. 1, Earl’s Seafood and Oyster House on Main Street will become Hub City Smokehouse and Grill.
More than 60 years ago, Barney Adams operated a fish market and oyster bar at 168 Main St. S., just south of the railroad tracks, before his son, Earl Adams, took it over and expanded the restaurant.
When Earl retired last month, Hub City owner Mike Carroll jumped on the opportunity to move in.
“We’ve been trying to get to Main Street for two years,” Carroll said. “I never thought of Earl’s because I never thought he’d be closing.”
Carroll, who also has Hub City locations in DeFuniak Springs and Baker, will close his P.J. Adams Parkway location, which he said has been difficult for potential patrons to find.
“Now there’s no excuse because everybody knows where Earl’s is,” he said. “For three years I’ve been hearing, ‘I don’t know where you’re at.’”
Carroll said he faces several challenges converting the restaurant from seafood and oysters to barbecue, including installing a regulation vent hood.
He said he will respect the longtime oyster bar’s legacy with an Earl’s commemorative wall of photos and memorabilia in the restaurant.
“I love the nostalgia of the place; the history of the place,” Carroll said. “Earl’s has been there 60 years and I want to be there the next 60.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Longtime seafood spot becomes barbecue restaurant